Tuesdays with Dorie: Brioche Plum Tart

I’ve been itching to make a tart with the gorgeous summer fruits that are popping up at the Greenmarket. Thanks to TWD and Denise of Chez Us, I got the push I needed this week…albeit in a slightly different direction. Rather than a pastry dough, the tart shell here is made from brioche. It’s pressed into a ring and topped with jam, fruit and nuts. Juice from the jam and fruit seeps into the brioche while it bakes. The end result is a really classy tart that temporarily turned my teensy-weensy Manhattan kitchen into a European bakery! By the way, this particular brioche recipe is the easiest I’ve ever made. The butter is melted, and all the ingredients are basically chucked into a bowl at once and mixed. (I’m thinking cinnamon rolls may need to start making more frequent appearances at my breakfast table!)

Although Dorie intends this tart to be a breakfast or tea-time treat, due to my work schedule this week, we enjoyed ours for dessert. As you can see from the picture, I made a couple of indiviual tarts so I wouldn’t have soggy leftovers. One night I used some little purple plums, hardly bigger than golf balls. They softened up quickly in the oven, which is good because the brioche browned awfully fast! The next night, I pressed out a couple more shells and used sweet cherries instead. With a little vanilla whipped cream, both were good, but I think I liked the cherry tarts better…next time, I should give it a go with apricots and a bit of my homemade jam!

I just knew I would come a visiting and you would have something that would just blow me away! Your styling on this is absolutely gorgeous…so rustic and yet so elegant at the same time. They look wonderful…great job.

What a unique dessert- I love making sweet bread dough, but I’ve never utilized it in a tart before. I LOVE plums in the summer, but don’t use them often in baking. I’ve had my eye on Dorie’s Dimply Plum Cake for quite some time, and was thinking of making it before summer’s end. I know you made it with peaches last September… if you had to pick just one to make- which would you recommend?

Your photos are beautiful (as usual 🙂 and the nuts look like a lovely textural contrast to the softened fruit. Great job and thanks for showing me yet ANOTHER recipe to add to my “must-try” list!